Coming off an unusual three-week break, Harvard had shaken off enough rust to take a 19-18 lead in the first set. But the Bulldogs responded by clinching the set with a seven-point run—and begging the question of how out-of-sorts the Crimson really was.

“Our timing was off,” senior outside hitter Alec Schlossman said. “We weren’t quite up to team speed right away. I think we were pretty inconsistent with our play.”

But a different narrative emerged over the next three sets, as Harvard squeezed through the second and dominated in the third and fourth to earn the match.

Clemens topped all players with 18 finishes, maintaining a streak of double-digit kill totals that stretches back to last season. However, defense was a large part of the Crimson’s success, as the team out-blocked P.R.-Mayaguez, 27-10.

Aside from the first set, the tensest moments occurred with the score locked at 24-24 in the second frame. With Harvard sophomore outside hitter Brad Gretsch serving, though, the Bulldogs committed a pair of errors to give away the game.

By contrast the Crimson deployed mid- and late-game runs in the third and fourth frames to cruise to 25-16 and 25-18 wins, respectively.

—Staff writer Sam Danello can be reached at sam.danello@thecrimson.com.